Organized labor groups in Maine, United States, have formed the Maine Labor Climate Council, a new alliance targeted at producing union employment in the renewable energy sector.
“We see climate change and economic inequality as two very significant concerns that the state faces,” said Maine AFL-CIO Executive Director Matt Schlobohm to Mainebiz. He believes that there is a pressing need to develop high-quality, well-paying employment with benefits and a voice. Until far, the types of employment produced in the renewable energy sector have been unequal.
According to Schlobohm, the group follows past attempts in states such as New York, Rhode Island, and Texas.
According to the alliance, the typical wage in Maine for a weatherization installer and technician in 2020 was $14.05; the median wage in Maine for floor, ceiling, and wall insulation workers was $16.14; and the median wage in Maine for solar photovoltaic installers was $19.09.
The organization also released a detailed Maine climate jobs study from Cornell University academics, which includes legislative suggestions around which the movement plans to mobilize. According to the alliance, if all of the suggestions in the study are followed, it will produce 10,000 to 20,000 decent employment in Maine each year for the next twenty years, depending on the scope of implementation and length of the initiatives.
The Maine Labor Climate Council, according to officials, is committed to confronting inequality and climate change together, as well as being laser focused on creating good employment as they expand Maine’s renewable energy economy.
The Cornell researchers’ analysis outlines strategies for reducing Maine’s carbon footprint while also ensuring that new employment meet high labor standards in terms of compensation, benefits, training, and job security. It also encourages clean-energy enterprises to promote underrepresented groups as part of their recruiting efforts by offering apprentice and pre-apprentice programs.
The plan prioritizes major initiatives such as powering all state and municipal vehicles, including school and city buses, by 2040, constructing a high-speed rail line from Bangor to Boston, and establishing 25,000 public electric car charging stations by 2030.